12: Huinan

"I said, big brother, we've been in Beijing for three days, why don't you go to the old prince's house?" After Zhong Kui finished catching ghosts, when the teahouse guys came down to the table to ask for rewards, Qi Yan and Shen Gui said. Shen Gui took out a small piece of silver slag weighing about three coins from his cuff and threw it into the young man's basket and said, "Don't be busy yet." Since we entered the gate of Fengjing City, the large group of civil and military officials who brought us here have all left. Since you ignore it, why do you want us to enter Beijing, do any of you know about this? Qi Yan looked back at Qi Hui, who was hiding the remaining dried fruit candied fruit in his arms, shook his head with a wry smile and was about to speak, Qi Hui said again: "Father and second uncle have taught that when we meet a cave in the mountains, we must have a beast roar outside, and if there is no roar inside, we can't go in." "Since ancient times, the hunters of Taibai Mountain have this rule: whenever they go into the mountain to hunt and meet the cave, they need to learn to scream from the cave when they see the footprints to identify the type of prey. If the beasts inside hear the sound of their own kind, most of them will come out or call back, then they can smoke or hunt down. But it is the rule not to enter the cave and explore the cave. The reason why this rule has been passed down from generation to generation is that in shamanic teachings, caves are often the birthplace of evil spirits and beasts. There are more mundane reasons: caves are often poorly lit, and the eyes of the cave seeker will be blind as soon as they come into contact with strong light and dark changes. At this time, it is most likely to be hunted by fierce beasts or villains. Shen Gui smiled and clapped his hands: "Our third child couldn't be more clear in this sentence." We don't know why we're here; I don't know what the man who brought us here wants us to do; We don't even know who asked us to come. I had a grandfather I had never met, but I couldn't just jump in without knowing anything. Moreover, you have forgotten one of the most important reasons. With that, he reached into his arms and took out a square seal in the expectant eyes of his two younger brothers: "We have money!" ”

The three of them settled the tea money and walked towards Hezhong Street in the east of the city. Youhe is the largest inland river in Youbei, starting from the east of Taibai Mountain on Zhongshan Road in the east, and confluence with the Gushi River in Dongyoulu. West to Guanbei Road, Zhuangkou Town flows into Guanhai. Before the establishment of the country in Youbei Sanlu, it was originally some small tribes or pastoral teams. Therefore, at the beginning of the establishment of the three-way city in Youbei, it was built according to the habit of grazing and resting for the people. This Fengjing city is located on the north bank of the Youhe River, and this Hezhong Street is naturally the most prosperous commercial street in the center of the city. The Youbei Imperial Palace, standing in the southwest direction of Hezhong Street, is the most central location in the inner city of Fengjing. The three brothers slowly entered the east exit of Middle Street, and the street was full of traffic, with various shops and restaurants in the north and south. Shen Gui looked over one by one, and finally found a two-story shop on the north side of the middle section of Hezhong Street, with four gilt characters on a large black plaque directly above the door of the store: Huinan Qianzhuang. The pen is strong and vigorous, and a line of small characters on the left indicates the author's self-name: the master of the grass pavilion. Shen Gui secretly admired in his heart, both for the magnificent door of this Huinan Money Village; It is also for this continent where the cultural inheritance is seriously damaged, and there are still people with such calligraphy attainments.

"Welcome to the three, the contemptible person is the front hall manager of the Fengjing branch of this Huinan Qianzhuang, the cheap surname is Dong, and the single name is a flat character." A middle-aged man dressed in a Gusu embroidered brocade robe greeted him, with the signature smile of a businessman, and did not look strange at all because the person who came was three children. Shen Gui cupped his fists and saluted: "Steward Dong is polite, come here today, there are some things to trouble your number." Dong Ping saw that although the child was only about ten years old, he was well-mannered, and his speech and demeanor seemed to be that of a child who had read some books, so he added a little more careful: "Providing convenience for guests is the main business of my Huinan Money Village, so why talk about the word trouble?" It's just that I don't know if the little minister is going to exchange silver for tickets today? Or do you want to host it? Shen Gui thought for a while, and took out the old cane's seal from his arms: "Actually, I don't know what I can do, please take a look at it first, do you have this seal?" "When Steward Dong saw this seal: the whole body was clear and transparent, and the shape was as moist as solidified honey, and it was actually a Tianhuang frozen stone seal." Such a treasure can not be recognized by people like me, and it is troublesome for the little minister to move upstairs to the inner store. Please identify the treasurer of this number. Dong Ping quickly recovered from the trance of seeing the treasure, took a few steps and stood in front of the stairs, bowing his back slightly and giving his right hand a bow.

The big shopkeeper was an old man with a somewhat hunched back, in his mid-sixties. He saw that three children had gone upstairs, put down the jade handle that he had been playing with, and got up accordingly: "The three little officials are invited, the old man is the shopkeeper of Huinan Qianzhuang in Fengjing, his family is surnamed Luo, and his name is Fengqi in Jinxi, and his name is Fengqi, which means Fengming Qishan." "Shen Gui saw that this old man didn't rely on his advanced age, and preemptively reported his home, and couldn't help but have a good impression of this Huinan money village." Old shopkeeper, you are so courteous, this is the life of my three brothers. Under the surname Shen, a single name is a return to the word, these two are my brothers, Qi Yan returned. My brothers are all Zhongshan passers-by" said that he gave back, revealing the Qi brothers behind him, and the two bent down to salute, but did not speak. The shopkeeper Luo led his right hand and sat opposite Shen Gui. Shen Gui took out the seal, lightly placed it in the middle of the table, and then nudged it towards the direction of Luo's shopkeeper with the back of his hand: "This seal was given by a senior." The old shopkeeper is a native of Jinxi, who is born to do business, and has many years of experience, and he knows the subtleties. You must know what this is for. The shopkeeper Luo grasped the whole seal with his hand, rubbed it a few times in his hand, got up and squinted at the light outside the window, turned the seal upside down, and carefully looked at the engraved words: Huayan Business Gang. This kind of Tianhuang frozen stone square seal is rare, but the value of this chapter should not be in the material, Xiao Shen Gongzi, you wait a while, the old man is old, you have to check the account books. With that, Luo Fengqi pushed the seal back in front of Shen Gui, got up and walked to the apricot wood carved bamboo bookcase, took out a few account books, and ordered downstairs: "Please have refreshments." Then he began to look at it.

Shen Gui and the Qi family brothers drank tea, ate refreshments and slowly looked around, and found that the layout of the second floor had a strange smell. This room is much smaller than the outside, but the furniture and accessories are very exquisite, every piece of furnishings and utensils seems to be elegant and delicate, even the carvings on the window lattices are hollowed, and the eyes of some bird carvings can be turned with the wind, which can be described as ingenious. Qi Yan obviously also noticed the extraordinaryness of the room on the second floor, and looked at Shen Gui but didn't speak. "There it is!" Shopkeeper Luo closed the account book and walked back, and said to Shen Gui with a surprised face: "This seal is the private seal of the head of the Huayan Shang Gang, the head of the previous generation, Zhou Shutong. With this chapter, you can withdraw money at any semicolon of the Huinan Commercial Gang, and there is no restriction. "Huayan Merchant Gang?" The first time Shen Gui heard of this merchant gang, it was also the first time he knew Lao Gui's real name, which was Zhou Shutong. "This week, Shu Tong Zhou, boss, was a Nankang giant twenty years ago, and then disappeared without knowing why. However, before his disappearance, he had handled the inheritance trusteeship in Huinan Bank, so we operated it on his behalf according to the original agreement. With the trusteeship of Huinan Bank, although the original silk business did not decline, its growth was extremely slow. In the past 20 years, the Zhou family has gradually been overtaken by other families, from a dominant family to a hundred schools of thought. Shen Gui sneered: "Entrusted such a big family business like this, I don't think your Huinan Qianzhuang's methods are very clever." Shopkeeper Luo hurriedly waved his hand: "Xiao Shen Gongzi, you will be mistaken, the trusteeship business, just respect the development direction set by the customer, and then use Huinan Qianzhuang as a guarantee to maintain the original customers and merchants in the family." As for changing the direction of business or opening up new business routes, this is not something we can do. If we become insolvent on a day, we also have the right to liquidate our assets. Of course, we also have to deduct a custodian fee from the entrusted merchant family every year as remuneration. Shen Gui clapped his hands: "It's a good one to borrow a chicken to lay eggs, this time I was a little impressed." "Let's talk about this Huayan merchant gang," the shopkeeper Luo picked up the seal of the head of the family and caressed it lovingly, "Originally, the Zhou family did not agree to our trusteeship, but because Zhou Shutong himself had a contract in our Huinan General Account, we relied on this contract to manage the Huayan business for nearly ten years." However, ten years ago, someone came to Huinan to handle the delivery of the merchant gang with the seal of the leader of the Huayan merchant gang. The matter should have ended here, but when the new gang leader learned of the existence of this family master's seal, he said that there was no need to abolish it. Because of this, Xiao Shen Gongzi, your seal can be said to be equivalent to a silver ticket issued by the Huayan Merchant Gang with no restrictions. ”

The three children all looked happy, and Shen Gui even smiled at the calmness on his face: "Then the troublesome shopkeeper Luo will take 10,000 taels of silver for us first?" Luo Fengqi looked surprised: "Do you know that an ordinary family only earns twenty taels a year, forgive me for relying on the old and selling the old, the three young masters are afraid that they haven't made much money, right?" Shen Gui looked at Qi Yan and Qi Hui's two brothers, and the two brothers also looked at him helplessly. This is the first time that our brothers have gone far away, and we ask the old shopkeeper for more advice. Shen Gui scratched his head a little embarrassed and looked back. Shopkeeper Luo stroked his gray beard, looked at the three children and thought: "At your age, you can't buy land and property alone, and it's useless to ask for so much money." According to the old decay, it is better to do this, first give each of you ten taels of broken silver to press the bag, and spend it conveniently; Each person took a 100 taels of Huinan silver ticket and put it on his body in case of emergency. If there is a place for a lot of money in the future, you can come directly to the old decay. Shen Gui nodded in agreement, and it didn't take long. The three brothers walked out of the gate of Huinan Bank, each with a bulging gold silk embroidered satin money bag hanging from their waists. Three children, with bulging money bags at the waist, stood at the door of the silver trumpet, and the people who came and went on the street in the river saw that they were good people but also had bad intentions.

The three children had silver in their pockets, and their waists were much stiffer. The street in the middle of the river was full of wandering vendors who were constantly selling goods to the three children, and all three brothers had a snack. While eating, we walked west along the main road. When I was tired of walking, I looked up, and I was faced with an archway, and there were four big characters on the archway: 'Qinlou Chu Pavilion'. The three little brothers stood under the archway and looked in, the two-story small buildings were hung with red cloaks, because it was still afternoon, and the red lanterns hung were not yet lit. Shen Gui swallowed a mouthful of saliva hard, but clearly heard two swallowing sounds. He turned his head sideways and looked at Qi Yan who was swallowing saliva with him: "Could it be ......" "It's ......" Qi Hui pointed to the third small building behind the archway and said, "Big brother, look, beautiful sister." Shen Guiban raised his face and said, "It's a fierce woman, you and the second brother will go back to the inn first, and the eldest brother will go to meet them." Qi Yan immediately said: "How can you let the eldest brother go to Longtan alone, the third brother, you go back first by taking the ox cart at the entrance of the station, and your eldest brother and I are going to explore the tiger's den." After saying that, the two of them hooked their shoulders and were just about to go inside, when three big men and a middle-aged man jumped out of nowhere, and in a few breaths, they threw the three children into the carriage that stopped behind them and drove away. A passer-by next to him spat when he saw this: "Fuck, now the kidnappers are so broad daylight, and they are still driving carriages, what kind of fucking world is this." ”